Friends of the Battle
by JediBarrissOffee
Summary: Contest entry for Darth KenObi-wan's contest. The death of one frieand brings out another. Anakin/Barriss friendship pairing.


This is a response to Darth KenObi-Wan's contest where I have to use an excerpt.

I am going to change the characters though...

Disclaimer: I do not own star wars or any of its characters.

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It was raining. There was mud and blood everywhere. In the middle of the battle field were two figures. Closer inspection revealed them to be Jedi Padawans. Anakin Skywalker knelt in the mud, his head resting against Barriss Offee's shoulder as he sobbed. They had already taken her body away.

Barriss was a healer, but nothing could have healed the pain Anakin felt at that moment. She had never seen him like this, and hadn't expected him to react this way. She didn't know the senator personally, but she did know that Anakin had.

They were the only surviving Jedi of the battle, and over half of the clone troops were wiped out. The two padawans' masters were stationed elsewhere, one at the temple, the other in a separate system.

The battle was a long one, a droid invasion that had invaded the base had gotten out of hand. There was a transport carrying republic diplomats that had been shot down. There were no survivors. The transport was headed toward a nearby city for a meeting of governance on the planet. Aboard this transport was Senator for Naboo, Padmé Amidala. According to reports, she had died of massive head trauma.

Anakin couldn't believe what was happening. She was dead, gone. The one thing he cared about was gone. The death of his mother was one thing, but this was entirely different. The pain was worse, more intense. His heart was shattered, and nothing could put it back together. He wanted to get revenge, but on what? A mindless hunk of metal? The love of his life was killed by a useless droid with a lucky shot. The droid was gone, defeated by a clone trooper, but anyone can just built a new droid. You can't build a new heart.

"Anakin…" He heard the voice of his fellow padawan. It was surprisingly soothing, and sympathetic. But Anakin didn't want sympathy. He wanted revenge.

The healer continued. "I know your pain, when I found out about my mother's death-"

Anger flared through Anakin's mind. "You know nothing! You have _no_ idea what this feels like!" He stood up and glared at her with such intensity that it rivaled that of Mace Windu.

Barriss was utterly shocked at Anakin's reaction, but she didn't show it. Instead she stood up as well and met his gaze. "Anakin, I'm trying to help-"

"You can't help me now! No one can!" Tears continued streaming down his face.

"You only hurting yourself Anakin!" She yelled back.

"Why do you care? We aren't friends anyway!" He shouted at her.

Her breath caught in her throat. "Well _I_ thought we were…"

He ignored her comment. "Why do you care about anybody? They all let you down in the end!"

Barriss's instinct told her that she should drop it, but something else, the small voice in the back of her mind told her to continue trying to help. "No they don't."

"What?" He had not expected her to answer so calmly or to even answer at all.

"You are wrong Anakin. People live and people die, it's all a part of the Force, as a Jedi I thought you knew that. But apparently I was wrong. You are too arrogant to notice this."

"Arrogant? How am I being arrogant? I'm acting completely-"

"Open your eyes!" Barriss's temper flared as Anakin's had. "You fail to see what is right in front of you! Do you honestly think I gain joy in your misery?"

Anakin was about to yell back, but couldn't come up with what to say.

After no response, Barriss continued. "I've lost a friend before too, and I know that your angry and sad. I want to help you, and no matter what you say or think, you _are_ my friend, and I don't like to see my friends in pain."

Anakin studied the Mirialan. She was covered in mud and blood and wore an expression of sincerity on her face. His breathing faltered, returning to the ragged pattern it had just minutes before. Tears started falling down his face again.

Barriss noticed this change in mood and put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.. He continued crying and his sobs grew more wrenching. Barriss was slightly confused at how he was taking the senator's death. He was acting as though she was one of his close relatives…

"Anakin?"

He sniffed and his cries subsided. "What?"

"The senator Padmé, was she a friend?"

He didn't know what he should do. Should he tell her about Padmé or lie?

He sighed. He didn't have anything to lose. "Padmé was… she was more than a friend… much more…"

Barriss blinked. She knew she was going out on a limb. "Did you love her?"

That did it. The waterworks continued. He couldn't manage words, so he nodded.

She didn't know how to react. She knew she should report this to the council, but she wouldn't want Anakin to get kicked out of the order… plus, it wouldn't make a difference, Padmé was dead now… At that moment she could do two things: She could scold him and walk away, or she could comfort Anakin in his time of loss. She chose the latter and hugged him closely.

Barriss wondered what Anakin was feeling. She knew the pain of loss, but this was different, she could sense more. She had never loved anyone herself. The closest she came to that was respect or admiration.

Anakin couldn't figure it out. Why was Barriss helping him? She should be angry at him, he thought. He had yelled at her when she was trying to help him, not to mention she was a strict code follower, and should be angry at him for breaking the code.

But she wasn't. She wasn't angry, she was hugging him, comforting him.

"Why are you doing this?"

She looked up at him. "Because, that's what friends do."


End file.
